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Students, parent urge Howard County Council to fund Centennial High renovations and special education
Summary
During the FY2026 executive proposed budget public hearing, a Centennial High School student described collapsing ceilings, mold and repeated outages and urged the council to allocate funds for renovations; a parent urged the council to "fully fund" education priorities including special education.
A student at Centennial High School and a longtime education advocate urged the Howard County Council during the FY2026 executive proposed budget public hearing to allocate funds for school renovations and for school system priorities, including special education.
Angela, a junior at Centennial High School, told the council that the school is experiencing “ceilings are falling in, becoming unsafe,” flooding that has damaged student artwork, frequent power outages, mice and mold in classrooms and repeated problems with toilets. “Not one day goes by and I'm not scared if a piece of my ceiling is gonna fall on my head,” she said. Angela said the school had five power outages in one week and described athletic- and facilities-related safety problems: lack of outdoor restrooms for visiting teams, steep ramps that she said are not ADA-compliant for athletes and visitors, and damaged softball fields and track surfaces that prevent hosting meets.
The student asked council members to allocate at least a portion of the FY2026 budget to renovations at Centennial so students and staff “can learn, teach, and create without the fear of our walls collapsing on us.”
Brendan Murray, a parent and longtime education advocate, also addressed the council and asked members to “fully fund” education priorities in the county budget. Murray said his priorities include special education and school safety and warned that reductions in federal funding could increase pressures on local funding. He said he had worked on education funding campaigns in other states and that voters would remember how council members voted on education funding.
Both speakers offered their testimony during the council's public hearing on the county executive's FY2026 proposed operating budget. The council opened the hearing as a hybrid session (in-person and WebEx) and permitted public testimony after an advance sign-up; representatives from nonprofit organizations had five minutes, and individuals had three minutes to speak.
The council will hold additional FY2026 operating budget work sessions on May 12, May 14 and May 16 beginning at 10 a.m., and the council said written comments will continue to be accepted and considered before action is taken.
